New Zealand’s inbound net migration rose to a 10-year high in January as fewer people quit the country to cross the Tasman and the number of new migrants continued to gain.

This is generally good news. Important to note there are four aspects to net migration. They are:

New migrants to NZ

NZers returning home

NZers leaving NZ

Migrants (not citizens) leaving NZ

Let’s look at what is happening to each of these.

New migrants to NZ

In the last year this reached 68,920. A year ago it was 62,300 and this level is the highest since mid 2003. The level of new migrants is determined by both demand and government policy (aspiring migrants need to meet criteria such as qualifications, wealth etc).

NZers returning home

This is at 26,660. A year ago it was 23,320. It was list this high in 2004. This is purely driven by a desire to return home, as it is a right to return.

Migrants leaving NZ

This is at 23,120. They are permanent or long-term residents (but not citizens) who have moved to another country. A year ago at 24,070. The lowest level since mid 2006.

NZers leaving NZ

This is at 46,000. A year ago it was 61,550 so a huge drop of almost 25%. It was lower in 2009-10 during the global recession and financial crisis (people don’t leave home during a crisis). In 2008 it was at almost 61,000.

Australians

Also of interest is the flow of to and from Australia. 7,040 Australians came to NZ in the last year – an all time high. An increase of around 35% from a year ago. Also 12,990 Kiwis have returned from Australia – also an all time high.

The number of Kiwis going to Australia is at 33,030. A year ago 48,450. Also a drop by around a third.

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 28th, 2014 at 11:00 am and is filed under New Zealand.
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21 Responses to “Migration at 10 year high”

This inflow of new migrants who will vote later this year is made up of people who want a brighter future. That is their main reason for coming to NZ. I’m sure that they will vote for National rather than 70’s style policies of Labour.

A nation that has little sense of identity will more easily allow people from other cultures to immigrate in significant numbers than a nation who knows clearly who it is and what customers and values its citizens share in common.

This is not to say that immigration is a negative thing, but it will bring changes. As long as its citizens are willing to accept these changes…

The reality is NZ can’t operate well without we migrants—particularly we skilled migrants. It’s high functioning and growing NZ with a a steady flow of skilled migrants versus stagnant NZ. Smart countries like NZ, Canada and Australia figured this out yonks ago.

As for our political orientations, many are moderates. Key’s not the monster that local progressives sometimes paint him to be, but some of his caucus are vile. In other jurisdictions the Greens are sensible on economic issues: not under Norman and Turei. We won’t even go there for ACT, NZ First and the ethnic parties.

Immigration can be good or bad. America, with its success in integrating each wave of migrants, does it well.

However, many countries’ ethnicities are at each others’ throats: Muslim and Christian Africans, Orthodox Russians and Chechen Russians, Sunni and Shia Muslims, Tibetans and ethnic Chinese in Tibet, Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, ethnic Russians and Ukrainians in Ukraine, Buddhists and Muslims in Thailand, and now Muslims and non-Muslims in Britain, the Netherlands and much of Europe.

Also many homogeneous countries are performing very well economically – China, Japan, South Korea are examples.

In New Zealand we assume that multiculturalism and multi-ethnicities are unquestionably the best course. We assume over all benefits from what amounts to the second big ethnic re-engineering of the country. That may be true, but it’s deplorable that there’s never been thorough discussion of this, nor anything like political scrutiny and voting on this momentous national change.

Attempts to question it are usually met by a chorus of “racist!”. Multiculturalism as an ideology stems from far-left political philosophy, and such shutting down of debate is a hallmark of the rabid Left.

It remains imperative that NZ migrant mix reflect what we as a nation value – and that means a degree of homogeniety in those we seek/permit to migrate here.

It needn’t be racial homoegeneity as such – I am quite happy living next to my Asian neighbours (it helps they are fairly good english speakers and some in the family are Christians – some markers that they should assimilate fairly well here).

Franky we do not ever wish to emulate Sweden or the UK – where seeminlgy random open door migration has seen hordes of differently valued (nice pc language!) people enter the country and begin wreaking cultural havoc – no thankyou very much.

Surely the English speaking requirement is not being adhered to. I’ve tried to buy food in some lunch bars in Auckland and can’t understand a word they are saying.
And it is still a mystery to me how a Chinese kid can win the English prize at end of year when he can’t have a conversation in English with anyone other than another Chinese kid.

NZ’s progressive immigration policy is a Ponzi scheme. We are simply importing migrants solely to create population growth as a round-a-bout way of creating economic growth through housing construction, and consumption sales. Neither National or Labour have any other ideas.

@Jack5 – “Multiculturalism as an ideology stems from far-left political philosophy, and such shutting down of debate is a hallmark of the rabid Left.”

I strongly agree. It was Labour in the UK who said (and I quote) “we will rub the Right’s noses in diversity.”

I also agree with Odakyu-Sen. I was quite stunned to see the census figures showing that 1 in 4 people in NZ are now immigrants. That is a *huge* change.

The main immigrant-source countries at present (according to that article) are the UK, China, India, Philippines and Germany. The good news is that the vast majority of people from those countries will fit in well here (assuming that the Indians are Hindu).

It is great to see more Aussies coming here and really good to see some NZers coming back from Australia.

The one group that I do *not* want to have coming here are Muslims.
They form their own enclaves wherever they go and their ideology is hostile to Western culture and values. The UK, Sweden and France have already seen what happens with large numbers of Muslim immigrants.
We do not want that here.

Down here in Christchurch we had the Earthquake repairers in. I had two Irish, one Latvian, an Australian for god’s sake, and a South African. I fed them all.god’s sake, and a South African. I fed them all.
I have a Thai wife she went out to work, they said you can slave like a dog for $11,
she said no thanks I go back home to my good husband

The one group that I do *not* want to have coming here are Muslims.
They form their own enclaves wherever they go and their ideology is hostile to Western culture and values. The UK, Sweden and France have already seen what happens with large numbers of Muslim immigrants.
We do not want that here.